IndiJ Public Media, PBS lose NSF grants

The National Science Foundation canceled a $1.2 million grant to IndiJ Public Media in April that supported Indigenous climate reporting.

The five-year grant began in July 2023, according to IndiJ Marketing and Communications Director Janee’ Doxtator. IndiJ is far from the only organization losing NSF funding, with NPR reporting that “waves of cancellations” last month ended more than 1,000 awards. 

PBS also had an NSF grant through PBS Digital Studios that was canceled April 25, according to PBS spokesperson Jason Phelps. Production on the majority of the content funded by the grant was already completed, as the grant was set to end July 31, Phelps said. 

It helped produce 159 STEM videos for YouTube and social media that received more than 15 million views, Phelps said. He did not disclose the amount of the grant.

IndiJ’s grant supported an Indigenous climate reporting desk along with digital and broadcast segments appearing on PBS News Hour and the websites and social media of News Hour and IndiJ Public Media’s ICT, Doxtator said. 

The Indigenous climate reporting desk had already been producing stories for about 18 months on the grant, Doxtator said. Examples of the work include reporting on the Quinault Nation’s plan for a new village uphill in the face of flooding and a Q&A with the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for Indian affairs. ICT has two full-time employees dedicated to the Indigenous climate desk, along with freelancers and other journalists who report stories for the desk, Doxtator said. 

The grant-funded work allows Indigenous journalists “to challenge existing narratives about climate change and its impact on Indigenous communities, replacing a narrative of loss with one that is rooted in lived experience and much richer, more complex, and accurate,” Doxtator said in a written response to questions from Current.

Additionally, Knology had started research examining what Indigenous and non-Indigenous publics know about climate problems and solutions.

IndiJ was notified its grant was cancelled April 25 in a “confidential email” from the NSF Division of Grants and Agreements, Doxtator said.

ICT’s climate desk and the partnership between ICT and PBS News Hour will continue, with ICT seeking funding to make up for the lost grant, Doxtator said. The Knology research, however, will be put on hold. 

“Although Indigenous communities are among the hardest hit by the effects of climate change, national news coverage of how these communities are using technology and engineering to tackle the problem is usually done from an ‘outsider’ perspective, ignoring traditional knowledge and bypassing Indigenous journalists,” Doxtator said. “ICT remains focused on maintaining our level of climate-focused coverage, looking for other sources of funding to make up for the massive loss of this particular grant.”

This article has been updated with information about PBS’ NSF grant.